Defined Benefit vs Defined Contribution or is There a Third Way? Defined Ambition Schemes: An Alternative Approach to Risk Sharing

2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Benedict Davies
Keyword(s):  
Risk Sharing ◽  
Defined Benefit ◽  
Defined Contribution ◽  
Third Way ◽  
Alternative Approach

scholarly journals PENSION FUND RESTORATION POLICY IN GENERAL EQUILIBRIUM

2019 ◽  
Vol 24 (7) ◽  
pp. 1785-1814
Author(s):  
Pim B. Kastelein ◽  
Ward E. Romp
Keyword(s):  
Risk Sharing ◽  
Pension Fund ◽  
Pension Funds ◽  
New Keynesian ◽  
Defined Benefit ◽  
Defined Contribution ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Keynesian Model ◽  
Intergenerational Risk Sharing ◽  
The Business Cycle

When the financial positions of pension funds worsen, regulations prescribe that pension funds reduce the gap between their assets (invested contributions) and their liabilities (accumulated pension promises). This paper quantifies the business cycle effects and distributional implications of various types of restoration policies. We extend a canonical New-Keynesian model with a tractable demographic structure and, as a novelty, a flexible pension fund framework. Fund participants accumulate inflation-indexed or non-indexed benefits and funding adequacy is restored by revaluing previously accumulated pension wealth (Defined Contribution (DC)) or changing the pension fund contribution rate on labor income (Defined Benefit (DB)). Economies with DC pension funds respond similarly to adverse capital quality shocks as economies without pension funds. DB pension funds, however, distort labor supply decisions and exacerbate economic fluctuations. While DB pension funds achieve intergenerational risk-sharing, welfare analyses indicate that the negative effects of the induced distortions are sizeable.

A Comprehensive Review of the Evolution of Accounting Standards for State and Local Government Pensions and Other Postemployment Benefits in The United States

2019 ◽  
Vol 46 (1) ◽  
pp. 57-77
Author(s):  
Dale L. Flesher ◽  
Craig Foltin ◽  
Gary John Previts ◽  
Mary S. Stone
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Local Government ◽  
Accounting Standards ◽  
The United States ◽  
Pension Funds ◽  
Defined Benefit ◽  
Defined Contribution ◽  
Defined Contribution Plans ◽  
State And Local Government ◽  
State And Local

ABSTRACT Both the business media and the popular press have emphasized the underfunding problems associated with pension funds that are set aside for state and local government workers, a group that also includes teachers and professors at state-affiliated colleges and universities. The realization that pension funds are typically underfunded stems from the fact that the accounting standards associated with state and local government employee pension funds have led to greater transparency since 2011. This paper examines, explains, and interprets the historical development over the last 70 years of accounting standards for state and local government pension funds in the United States. Changing accounting standards, along with economic and social change, have led to consequences such as employers transforming their pension programs to avoid substantial costs and significant liabilities, for example by changing from defined benefit to defined contribution plans.

Transitions from career employment among public- and private-sector workers

2019 ◽  
Vol 18 (04) ◽  
pp. 529-548 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joseph F. Quinn ◽  
Kevin E. Cahill ◽  
Michael D. Giandrea
Keyword(s):  
Public Sector ◽  
Private Sector ◽  
Pension Plans ◽  
Full Time ◽  
Defined Benefit ◽  
Defined Contribution ◽  
Private And Public ◽  
Public And Private Sector ◽  
Career Employment ◽  
Public Sector Workers

AbstractDo the retirement patterns of public-sector workers differ from those in the private sector? The latter typically face a retirement landscape with exposure to market uncertainties through defined-contribution pension plans and private saving. Public-sector workers, in contrast, are often covered by defined-benefit pension plans that encourage retirement at relatively young ages and offer financial security at older ages. We examine how private- and public-sector workers transition from full-time career employment, with a focus on the importance of gradual retirement. To our surprise, we find that the prevalence of continued work after career employment, predominantly on bridge jobs with new employers, is very similar in the two sectors, a result with important implications in a rapidly aging society.

scholarly journals Addressing Longevity Risk: How Best to Annuitize Defined Contribution Assets?

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 686-686
Author(s):  
Alicia Munnell ◽  
Gal Wettstein ◽  
Wenliang Hou
Keyword(s):  
Social Security ◽  
Longevity Risk ◽  
Defined Benefit ◽  
Defined Contribution ◽  
Economics Of Aging ◽  
Distribution Rules ◽  
Lifetime Income ◽  
The Social ◽  
Defined Benefit Pensions ◽  
Deferred Annuity

Abstract Unlike defined benefit pensions, 401(k) plans provide little guidance on how to turn accumulated assets into income. The key risk that retirees face is outliving their assets. Insurance against such risk is available through several routes, including immediate annuities, deferred annuities, and additional Social Security through delayed claiming. Under this Social Security bridge option, participants would tap their 401(k) for payments equal to their Social Security to delay claiming. This paper compares these three options in simulations against a baseline in which no assets are used to obtain lifetime income. In each option, assets not allocated to purchasing lifetime income are consumed following the Required Minimum Distribution rules. The analysis finds that, when market and health shocks are included alongside longevity uncertainty, the Social Security bridge option is generally the best for households with median wealth. Wealthier households can benefit from combining the bridge option with a deferred annuity. Part of a symposium sponsored by the Economics of Aging Interest Group.

scholarly journals The cult of the equity for pension funds: should it get the boot?

2005 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 57-85 ◽  
Author(s):  
CHARLES SUTCLIFFE
Keyword(s):  
Asset Allocation ◽  
Risk Sharing ◽  
Pension Scheme ◽  
Defined Benefit ◽  
Turn Of The Millennium ◽  
Equity Prices ◽  
Risk Return ◽  
History Of ◽  
Complete Rejection ◽  
The Uk

Over the last half century UK defined benefit pension schemes have followed the cult of the equity by investing a large proportion of their assets in equities. However, since the turn of the millennium this cult has faced two serious challenges – the halving of equity prices, and the complete rejection of equity investment by the Boots pension scheme in 2001. This paper summarises the history of the cult in the UK and the arguments advanced at the time to support its adoption. It then presents the case for the cult (excluding taxation, risk sharing and default insurance). This is followed by a detailed consideration of the validity of this case, including an examination of the relevant empirical evidence. It is concluded that, in the absence of taxation, risk sharing and default insurance, the asset allocation is indeterminate; and depends on the risk-return preferences adopted by the trustees.

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